Elder Scrolls spouses, regardless of gender, aren't just for show in Skyrim. By wooing NPCs, players can complete relationship-boosting tasks, find a roommate for the new 3,000-gold house they bought in Dawnstar, and even get a traveling companion for those lonely late-night dungeon crawls. Seeing as how Bethesda is turning these partnerships into something more than a "press triangle-press circle-groan-moan" cutscene designed to make twelve-year-olds snicker, it seems there may also be a practical benefit to having additional options when selecting a mate. Who knows, maybe that surly Argonian maid would be slightly better helping you explore the dank cave near your hut than the burly Nordic blacksmith you had one too many Skoomas with the night before.

I’ll donate $5US for every woman I see dressed as Slave Leia at this year’s DragonCon, and $10US for every Rebel Leia (or dude Slave Leia), to the charity of your collective choice. Vote for your favorite organization or suggest one of your own in comments, and I’ll provide a final count next Monday night-ish after the dust has settled.

Brown kicked off the panel by discussing how it is possible to use gaming to nourish a relationship, using himself as an example. Four years ago he and his wife Kelly were about ready to break up, but during that difficult time they knew that they had one thing in common: video games. In order to reopen the doors of communication, they used venues such as a podcast to spend time with one another and discuss subjects that they were both passionate about. Through gaming, the couple was able to create opportunities to fall in love again, and both are committed to living out their lives together. Anniversaries are now spent playing Rock Band together, and Chris acknowledges that his wife beats him at Mortal Kombat.

I later found out that Jon infiltrated his way into OKCupid dates with at least two other people I sort of know, including one of my co-workers. Mothers, warn your daughters! This could happen to you. You'll think you've found a normal bearded guy with a job, only to end up sharing goat cheese with a guy who takes you to a one-man show based on Jeffrey Dahmer's life story.

"Mothers, warn your daughters!"? Why? Because he's a gamer? A geek? Yes, all sweet and polite guys should be cast off because of their hobbies. This is why geeks have a hard time dating, and why we need to stick to our own.

But more than that, there may be something more salacious at play here. Forbes contributor Paul Tassi believes this was a serious case of nerd-baiting on Gizmodo's part. It's an interesting read, but I don't think the article would have gotten any better treatment with Jezebel than it did Gizmodo, as Mr. Tassi asserts. Jezebel may be a "snarky female empowerment blog," whatever the hell that means, but it doesn't mean a Jezebel reader doesn't know an asshole when we see one:

Rather, I want to look at the fact that as of the time I’m writing this, that article has 529,280 views. For those of you lacking a frame of reference, that’s an astonishing number, especially for something a mere 12 short paragraphs.